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Test automation engineers are all too familiar with everything from scouring forums and boot camps to watching tutorials on testing tools and selecting a programming language. Test automation, often known as automated testing, has expanded rapidly.
It should come as no surprise that there is a significant demand for test automation experts across industries, making it harder to remain competitive. This thorough book is for everyone interested in a career in automation testing, whether you're a manual tester trying to advance or just curious.
Who Is An Automation Tester?
There are numerous names for the profession itself. The duties and range of work are the same for a test automation engineer, test engineer, or QA automation tester.
Those who use automated test scripts to carry out testing projects are known as automation testers. The duties of an automation testing engineer encompass developing, writing, overseeing, and executing automated test scripts across the Software Testing Life Cycle (SDLC) to minimize the occurrence of bugs and ensure the punctual delivery of software projects.
Organizations use QA teams to:
- Collaborate and communicate across teams with IT staff, business analysts, product managers, developers, and clients.
- Create processes for evaluating requirements and developing test techniques, plans, documentation, roadmap grooming, and budgets for spending.
- To better understand the codebase, architecture, coding conventions, etc., shift left and get involved early in the product development stages.
- Combine testing instruments with current technology and toolchains.
A good automation tester should have a deeper understanding of software testing in general, even though the specific duties and job description of an automation tester can vary greatly depending on the industry and firm. Developing more complex test scripts and covering more crucial scenarios will be made easier with a broader understanding of programming and technology.
Automation Testers: What Do They Do?
To put it simply, testers are supposed to use automation tools to automate tedious or repetitive test processes, but there is a lot more involved than that. Businesses' expectations of you will mostly depend on what they need to run their operations. They are looking for testers who can use critical thinking, identify inconsistencies and weaknesses, use various tools, and apply practical testing methods for well-executed test automation.
Organizations in a variety of industries are always searching for testers skilled in cutting-edge technologies for software testing as they wish to automate their testing process and enable quicker software or product releases.
- It would help if you had a solid grasp of both the application domain and the general principles of software testing.
- You require more advanced technical and programming abilities to create test cases and automate frameworks.
- Aims must be specified, and test cases must be chosen with those aims in mind.
- Automating specific repetitive test procedures, such as report comparisons and data extraction from Excel sheets, is necessary to save the entire QA team's time.
- Regularly communicate with your team to explore further ways to enhance the testing procedure.
Automation testing enables businesses to meet security requirements and expedite product delivery. Several SaaS companies use automation testers to provide comprehensive reporting capabilities, streamline testing, enhance issue identification, accelerate the process of testing, lower expenses, and minimize human participation.
Therefore, automated testing can be a fantastic career choice, but only if you are prepared to invest the time necessary to lay the proper foundation and gain in-depth knowledge of developing test scenarios.
Myths About Careers: Is Automation Testing A Good Option?
Software will always require testing to ensure that it is operating to its full potential.
The 40 billion USD automation testing market is anticipated to expand at a 14.2% CAGR between 2021 and 2026, per a report by Mordor Intelligence.
But there are a lot of stigmas associated with becoming an automation tester. A few such statements, along with our opinions, are below.
Myth #1 Regarding Automation Testing: Developers Should Get Paid More
Developers and software engineers indeed make more money than testers. Even if it's the harsh reality, this argument doesn't do the job of an automation tester justice.
It's like deciding between making less money for a career you love and working at a well-paying job you detest.
Here are some sample questions to ask yourself to determine whether software automation testing is a field you could be interested in:
- Do I enjoy learning about the underlying technologies and infrastructure that underlie a system, software, or application?
- Do I get excited about finding real-world situations and edge instances where a program, system, or application can malfunction?
- Do I love constructing automated test suites and learning from bug escapes to identify preventative measures?
- Do I look at every bug you report in detail and explain its cause?
These are, of course, only a few examples. However, if you responded "yes" to most of them, this may be a cosmic cue to step on the gas.
Myth #2 For Automation Testers: Software Testing Isn't That Hard
Finding problems is the only tricky part of testing. Congratulations, you're mistaken. Now that the application code has been created, come up with a hundred different ways it could go wrong. A great deal of learning is involved in ensuring that problems won't slip through the cracks once code has been put into production. It's also necessary for the database, business, and presentation layers to successfully communicate with one another.
Test automation engineers will need to interact with the following technologies daily:
- An automated test scripting workspace known as the "Testing IDE."
- CI/CD: Configure a series of tests to run automatically whenever a build is prepared for testing.
- Application Lifecycle Management (ALM): Creating bug reports and problem logs to be tracked on Jira-like systems.
Myth #3 About Automation Testing: Most Testers Aren't Good At Coding
You cannot fear the technological stack if you wish to control the test environments. Contrary to popular belief, testers are not skilled programmers. Today, test automation engineers independently identify and fix problems.
- Proficiency in writing scripts in many languages, such as Java, Perl, Ruby, and others, is necessary for automation testing.
- Testers use intricate SQL queries to generate test data for ETL testing or data validation.
- By translating the written code from one database to another, testers also help facilitate migration testing.
Writing poor code will, therefore, undoubtedly affect your testing abilities. Using coding, an automation tester can create scripts to set up, maintain, and monitor test environments. If you know a fair amount about coding, it's easy to figure out what would make the underlying code more testable. You can confidently delve deeper into message queues, web servers, databases, and operating systems to resolve problems.
Read more: Maximize Efficiency in Mid-Market Companies: Is Automation the Key? Cost, Gain & Impact Revealed!
How To Become A Test Automation Engineer?
You will require a solid foundation in programming ideas to work as a test automation engineer. You must be familiar with the fundamentals of software testing and be able to create code. A deeper understanding of the complete software development process is necessary for the testing profession.
You can enrol in many free or paid online courses, attend classes, or read books to learn the fundamentals of programming and software testing, including data types, error management, program flow, and more.
Having experience with manual testing is a benefit when creating automated test cases. Check out these 5 tips to excel as an automation testing engineer if you wish to move from manual testing to automation.
Domain Knowledge
We may enumerate a few general competencies that an automation test engineer has to possess, such as strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, the capacity to pay close attention to detail, the ability to produce clear and simple code, and the power to collaborate well with others. However, you must adopt an end-user perspective to develop structured test scenarios and respond to precise demands.
Insufficient domain or product knowledge might make it more difficult to find defects, build test models, and guarantee strong test coverage. Having the most advanced technical expertise in areas like mobile apps, SQL Server, and Linux is helpful. However, having deep domain expertise allows you to keep up with the ever-complex end-user requirements and vertical market software.
A testing automation engineer who understands the "why" behind a company can identify several hidden faults from the general public and build more accurate test scenarios.
Technology
The technology you select for test automation is based on your project requirements and personal preferences. Companies automate a variety of applications using a variety of techniques, such as
- Web applications: guaranteeing reliable operation and performance on various devices, browsers, and operating system versions
- Developers: Developers today use various services and APIs, often known as web services, to enhance the functionality of their websites and web apps.
- Mobile apps: adjust them to the appropriate versions that users are using.
- Desktop applications: how Windows, Linux, macOS, and other operating systems handle data vary.
When testing for each of these technologies, the following tools are the ones that automate testers choose above all others:
- Web Testing: Katalon and Selenium
- API Testing: Postman, SoapUI and Katalon
- Mobile Testing: Appium and Robotium
- Desktop Testing: AutoIT and WinAppDriver
Programming Languages And Tools
Opting for the most recognized and reliable automation testing tools in 2024 would be the most direct and secure path forward. However, keep in mind that, depending on which language your System Under Test (SUT) is programmed in, you'll also need to adapt your automation testing abilities to one or two other languages so that the assigned engineers can examine your test code as required.
It is important to remember that the popularity of low-code and no-code solutions does not mean that programming is no longer necessary. Low-code test automation tools are intended to reduce the work required compared to full-code approaches, much like the necessity for both automated and manual testing.
A solid grasp of common programming languages is necessary, from verifying replies between databases and APIs to giving additional technical information on those CSS mistakes.
However, in order of popularity, these are the languages that are most commonly used:
- Java
- Javascript
- Python
- Groovy
- Ruby
- C#
Although automation scripts can be written in any language, using a tool to assist you in the process makes more sense. But how can you choose which is the best? You will probably build scripts and test applications in various languages during your automation career. Sometimes, the solution lies in just one tool. However, you could have to work with various platforms and technologies with varying degrees of risk (unit, integration, end-to-end, etc.) over most of your TAE career.
When choosing a functional testing tool, consider a few essential factors rather than depending on less-than-ideal criteria. These include
- Category of defects (the graphical user interface, the database layer, and the business logic).
- Who will be in charge of automation (testers, programmers)?
- Language and environment for programming.
- Process setup and testing for data management.
- Version control and the continuous integration system.
- Platform support and tagging.
Strategy And Plan
Curious, outgoing, and, most importantly, cooperative qualities define an automation tester. Working with product owners, developers, and analysts to establish testing strategies will be a crucial responsibility of your new position as an automated test engineer. It's a common misconception that in fast-paced, agile work environments, automation testing will replace the necessity for manual testing.
When crafting and structuring a strategy for automation testing, seek solutions for:
- Who will participate in the process of test automation?
- What equipment will you require?
- Test automation's place in the present release management framework.
- How do you narrow down test cases?
- How are you going to carry out the tests and monitor the outcomes?
Willingness To Learn
Due to the ongoing need to learn new things for their career, most automation engineers are self-taught. Many books, online courses, and videos can provide you with a wealth of knowledge if you're willing to master test automation.
Conclusion
In summary, entering the automation testing field requires constant development and flexibility. Gaining expertise in technical skills, domain knowledge, and strategic planning is crucial as the software development industry transforms due to the increased demand for automation testing. Despite popular belief, the role of an Automation Tester involves more than just finding bugs; it also consists of using critical thinking skills and paying close attention to detail.
The automation testing industry is projected to grow at a 14.2% CAGR, demonstrating the role's unquestionable importance. To excel, develop a foundation in programming, embrace technology, and stay current with industry advancements. The effectiveness of an automation tester is enhanced in this dynamic environment by ongoing learning and the thoughtful application of professional advice.
